Ignite
by SasukePrismaColor
Summary: The passion to become a ninja ignites in the children of Konohagakure at a very young age. All they have to do is fan the flames. -Road to Ninja based, also based off a fanart I will link in my profile- -Eventual SasuSaku, with one-sided MenmaSaku, with sprinklings of MenmaHina, SaiIno, and ItaAsu-
1. Haruno Sakura

**Ignite**

**Summary:** The passion to become a ninja ignites in the children of Konohagakure at a very young age. All they have to do is fan the flames. -Road to Ninja based, also based off a fanart I will link in my profile- -Eventual SasuSaku, with one-sided MenmaSaku, and sprinklings of MenmaHina, SaiIno, and ItaAsu-

**Note:** Hi, everybody! :)

This is just the first part of a big planned fanfic. I saw this great picture shared by the SasuSaku fan page on Facebook and this idea popped into my head. The picture will be in my profile, at the top, so you can see it. If anyone knows who the artist is, PLEASE TELL ME. ;-; I want to know who he/she is so I can properly credit them.

If anyone is confused by the pairing ItaAsu, it stands for ItachixAsuna. Itachi will be paired with my Naruto OC Asuna Myuki. I am planning to put her on a team that will be another of the rookie teams to take part in the Chunin Exams. She's likely to show up numerous times before then, and will become a permanent character once the Exams begin.

Now, I would like to say that if you enjoy this, please review! :) It gives me happy and warm feels and I love to know what you all think!

I anticipate this to be about forty or so chapters, maybe more. I will do everything I can within my abilities to make this as detailed as I can.

Now, on with the story, and I do hope you enjoy! :)

(Bonus note: it's here. hallelujah i got the first chapter out. i'm so proud of myself. ;-; now, let's just hope tomorrow's(2/5/2014) Naruto chapter won't break my heart. thanks for reading~)

* * *

**Chapter 1: Haruno Sakura**

At four-years-old, one does not understand the harsh, cruel realities of life and death, especially the latter. Sakura Haruno, however, does. The most recent attack on Konoha has left her an orphan, taking both her father and mother from her. For the six months after, she has herself locked up in her room, praying, wishing, and hoping that this is nothing but a dream that will soon fade into nothingness. Having no other family in the village, Sakura has been forced to live alone and try to hold on to a small portion of her monthly allowance from the Hokage to help her pay for basic home necessities.

After a year, Sakura can venture outside with her head held high; knowing her parents' died an honorable death for a shinobi. Death on the battlefield is considered a much more respectable death than from old age, especially in Konoha. Sakura's unsure about other places, but she knows that those in the village hold even more respect for her father, the deceased Fourth Hokage. Sakura is able to keep her father's memory alive by wearing the cherry blossom necklace he gave her before he left, asking her to keep it safe for him until he returned. (She wasn't stupid back then. She knew her parents would not return to her.) Her mother's memory was harder to keep alive. Sakura had nothing of her mother's except an old engagement ring and a plain silver bracelet her mother wore every day. Still, the pink haired child wore the bracelet with her father's necklace, knowing she was doing her parents' proud as she wore their items.

Sometimes Sakura would sit on the bench in the park and just watch the other families, wishing she could have her parents back and do the same as the others, play on the swings or the jungle gym, go down the slide and be caught by her father while her mother berated him for doing something so dangerous.

At six-years-old, Sakura was allowed early entrance into the academy, but she knew it would take quite a while to graduate, longer than just three years as her mother had hoped. Sakura was diligent and focused in her studies, making sure she had anything and everything covered and memorized for each test. She had test anxiety-that's what the school counselor, Mizuki, said- and it would cause her to fail without a warning. Sakura completely failed one test her first year, and that was because it had been scheduled on her mother's birthday, leaving her emotions a train wreck and keeping her from doing well. She had no reason to repeat the class, as all her grades were perfect for the rest of the year, but she had to retake the test a month later, this time passing with flying colors, even though the scores from both tests would be weighted to figure the final grade.

+!+

That same year was when Sakura met the boy that would change her life, and not for the better. The boy was named Uchiha Sasuke and seemed so arrogant, all because of his namesake. So what if he was an Uchiha? That didn't mean he was better than the Fourth Hokage's daughter! And Sakura proved it when they were set against each other in a mock sparring match. Sasuke was completely enthralled by her, as evidenced by him just standing there and staring at her, like there was something wrong with him. It didn't even take her a second to throw a punch at his face and knock him out. Sakura did nothing but blink and shake her hand as she looked at Sasuke, who was flat on his back. She knew that the older boy who ran after him was his older brother, Itachi, having met him a few times before. Most of their classmates laughed before Sasuke finally got up, staring at Sakura.

"Hey, Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura turned around, a bit shocked that Sasuke was able to be up and talking already. Even more shocking, he was smiling away like everything in the world was perfect.

"…What?"

"I'm going to marry you one day!"

Sakura choked on her spit for a second, before shooting at glare at the boy and walking away.

_Never in your life._

When the next school year rolled around, Sakura wasn't the least bit happy to find she was in class with Uchiha Sasuke this time. During their summer break, he had followed her around like a lovesick puppy and wouldn't leave her be, trying anything and everything he could to get her to like him. After he accompanied her to one of the summer festivals, he kissed her on the cheek before running off and shouting 'I did it! I kissed her!'

Sakura desperately wanted to wipe that day from her memory, planning to never tell her future husband, whoever he would be, that it ever happened. Sasuke still stuck to Sakura like glue throughout the school year, much to the young girl's dismay.

+!+

A few months later, Sakura met the boy she would fall for, Namikaze Menma. He was blonde with striking blue eyes and she was very fond of him from the beginning. Sakura thought he was an amazing boy and followed him any chance she got.

No, she didn't stalk him. Menma knew very well that Sakura was there, and would acknowledge her with a smile and a 'hello', making Sakura smile shyly before she responded with a nod or a quiet greeting. She adored him and wanted very much to be his closest friend, but that spot was already taken.

By whom?

Uchiha Sasuke. It appalled the pinkette that boy she had her first crush on was best friends with the brat that 'loved' her and wanted to marry her one day. She couldn't believe these two were friends, and when they were polar opposites. Sasuke was… annoying and too lovey for her tastes, while _Menma_ was calm, cool, and collected, exactly what she wanted in a close friend.

But, even though Menma was friends with Sasuke, Sakura knew she had to at least try and befriend the blonde, and she did so every day. Whenever it was lunch break, Sakura would make a move to get to Menma before anyone (especially _Sasuke_) could, and she usually won out in the end.

"Menma-kun, may I sit with you for lunch?"

Menma blinked, nodding and giving a smile. "Of course, Sakura! Sasuke will be eating with us too, all right?"

Sakura tried not to groan or sigh; she just nodded, following Menma to place the two boys had picked out earlier that day.

And there he was. The eight-year-old Uchiha Sasuke was sitting in his spot, eating a tomato as he watched the other students run to their selected places, obviously annoyed that he and Menma had gotten the coveted place under the biggest tree in the schoolyard.

When he looked up and saw her, Sakura could've sworn she saw Sasuke choke a bit on his food. It almost made her laugh.

"S-Sakura-chan!"

She nodded, making Menma laugh as he hit his best friend on the back, obviously not helping with the 'I-just-freaking-choked-on-my-favorite-food' thing.

"Sakura's gonna eat with us, man! Cool with you?"

Sasuke blinked, nodding, looking at Sakura with a smile. "Cool with me."

_I really hate you._

Sakura sat in silence as she ate with the two boys. She listened as they had an argument over what their next exercise would be that day, and it made her roll her eyes, yet smile at the same time. She wondered how on earth that could be… how could such a silly argument, that they were both probably wrong about in the end, make her want to laugh so much? These two were best friends, that was probably why.

They got into all sorts of trouble together, and Sakura was one of the few who usually thought it was idiotic how they would act before getting into so much trouble. Whenever they did, it was Menma's idea, no doubt about it. These two were nothing but trouble and then some when they were together, and most of their classmates found it hilarious.

Sakura didn't, and she had no clue why.

Though, she didn't really want to find out the reason either, as she just wanted to get through the academy, become an official ninja, and then move onto taking over the hospital from Lady Tsunade when she got older. That was her only dream at the moment.

Well, maybe not her _only_ dream at the moment. Sakura did, in fact, want to get married and become a mother one day, but not for a very, very long time.

+!+

When Sakura turned nine, she met another young girl in her class, Yamanaka Ino. Ino was even more shy that Sakura was, and the two became friends almost instantly. Both would fawn over the boys they had crushes one. Sakura would fawn over Menma while Ino fawned over a boy who sat in the back named Sai. Sakura thought Ino's crush on the quiet child was adorable, and Ino was amazed that Sakura would have a crush on Menma.

"Why are you so shocked?" Sakura titled her head in confusion, looking at her friend.

Ino fidgeted a bit, before replying, "W-Well… he's Minato-sama's son! Minato-sama was going to be the Hokage… I never expected you to like Menma-san!"

Sakura blinked, 'ah'ing before she looked back at the two boys who had walked in. Menma and Sasuke were arguing, _again_, and she could only assume that it was Sasuke's fault once more.

"What are you two fighting about _this_ time?"

The two looked at Sakura, before looking back at each other.

"Well," Sasuke started, smirking a little bit. "I bet Menma that I could get you to date me one day!"

"And said it wouldn't work," Menma rolled his eyes, looking back at Sakura. "I told him you didn't like him that way."

"So~ Sakura-chan, which one of us is right?"

Sakura blinked, looking between the two, surprised. Why on earth would they _ever_ be fighting about something as silly as this? Unless… maybe, Menma liked her back?

The thought made the nine-year-old girl blush fiercely, and she stuttered a bit as she looked back and forth between the two boys.

"I-I…W-Well… um…"

Menma smiled, nodding. "See, Sasuke? I told you Sakura would never date you!"

Sasuke shot a small glare at his best friend, looking back to Sakura. "She didn't even say anything, stupid! Sakura-chan, you don't have to answer! We were joking around, that's all!"

Slowly Sakura started to calm down, not even caring that Sasuke had placed his hand on her should to help her. All that mattered was that they were joking about the whole thing.

Though, they were acting like they really were fighting when they walked into the classroom…

"So," Ino spoke up, hiding behind Sakura a tiny bit. "What… what were you t-two fighting about?"

"Where babies come from." Menma said it with a straight face.

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head, while Ino looked like she was going to faint.

Sakura, on the other hand, broke out into a laugh, making the other three stare at her, wondering what the heck was wrong with her.

"Sakura-chan?"

"What's wrong, why are you laughing at me?!"

Sakura calmed down once again, wiping away the few tears that had come out from her laughing.

"You guys… you don't know where babies come from?"

Menma and Sasuke looked at each other, turning to Sakura and nodding.

Sakura smirked immediately, getting up from her seat and throwing her arms around their shoulders.

"Walk with me, talk with me, boys…"

Ino watched as they walked off, shocked that Sakura, who had just barely nine, was explaining to the two where babies come from.

She had never seen two boys, who were likely mentally scarred now, run off so quickly in her entire life.

+!+

Sakura was eleven when she finally met one of Sasuke's life-long friends, Asuna Myuki. She had brown hair and green eyes, was a full year older than the two, but was also very kind and helpful with academy work, since she had already been through the classes they were in.

Sakura, also, learned from Sasuke that his and Asuna's parents had set up an arranged marriage between her and Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, when she was born. The pink haired pre-teen was shocked, asking why on earth they would do that, which only made Sasuke stare at her.

"My clan and the Myuki clan have had an alliance for over sixty years, Sakura-chan. So, when Asuna was born, they set her and my brother up for an arranged marriage."

"When does it kick in?"

"Oh, not until Asuna's twenty! Don't worry, she's not being forced at, like, sixteen or anything. Itachi's only four years older than her, so." Sasuke shrugged, walking with Sakura as they followed behind Itachi and Asuna, who were a good few steps ahead of them, out of ear shot so they couldn't hear the two tween's talking about them.

Sakura nodded, watching the older two. Asuna was talking about something, likely a mission she had with her team in a few days, while Itachi just listened to her without a problem. He actually looked like he was fairly happy, even if he wasn't doing much more than nodding at his future wife.

"What about you?"

Sasuke had been so caught up in thinking over a test that they had the next day he almost didn't hear Sakura. "What about me?"

"Do you have an arranged marriage coming?"

Sasuke laughed, loudly, which made Asuna look back at him with confusion, while Itachi just sighed, shaking his head, and telling Asuna to 'ignore my little brother'.

"No," Sasuke whispered a bit, trying not to let Asuna hear him. "I don't, Sakura-chan. My parents were planning one before I was born, but they decided not to do it in the end."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "No clue. My mom said she didn't want to do that with a clan no one knew anything about, so, I guess that was it."

"Well… good for you?"

Sasuke laughed once more, nodding. "Sure! It means I can marry you one day!"

Sakura shot him a glare, before stomping forward and past the older two who had been in front of them, making Itachi look at Sasuke while Asuna ran for Sakura.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, nii-san!"

+!+

Sakura yawned, laying her head on the desk and attempting to get a little bit of sleep before Iruka would come into the class room. The last week had been busier than usual, especially with the graduation exams the other day. Needless to say, Sakura passed with flying colors, impressing the Chunin sensei with her chakra control, which surpassed even theirs, and she was barely twelve.

Today, she would be placed on her Genin squad and, she hoped, Ino would be on it. Yes, it was odd and rare for teams to have two girls and one boy, but Sakura wanted it like that.

_So long as the boy is Menma and not Sasuke._

"Menma, stop it!"

"Go ask her man!"

Sakura barely cracked her eyes open, just to see Menma and Sasuke on the other side of the room, whispering a bit louder than they should have.

"She's gonna say 'no', I know she is!"

"Dude," Menma smiled, rolling his eyes. "If you don't ask, you'll never be sure."

Sasuke blinked, sighing and nodding, before walking over to Sakura, trying to look cool as could be, which was obviously easier said than done with the fact he looked like he was about to faint.

"S-Sakura-chan…"

"What, Sasuke?"

"W-Would you… um… i-if you want to, I mean, you don't _have_ to, but, my mom wants you to come over for dinner tonight… Asuna will be there too! So, it wouldn't just be us and my parents… promise!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow, staring at Sasuke with amusement. He was _hilarious_ when he was nervous. He would stutter, starting out strong when speaking and then slowly fade off into an almost silence as he continued. It was funny to Sakura, but others thought it was so _cute_ how it only happened around her.

Shaking her head, Sakura looked at Sasuke and sighed. "Fine… but, only because it's your mother wanting me over!"

Sasuke's eyes widened, and a smile broke out on his face as he nodded. "Six o'clock!"

"Six o'clock."

He immediately turned and ran back to Menma. "She said yes, man!"

"See?! You never know unless you try!"

While the two best friends laughed and walked to their seats, which just so happened to be beside Sakura, she just rolled her eyes.

_Why couldn't it have been Menma's mother who wanted me over?_

+!+

"Everyone, calm down, now!"

The about thirty Genin in the classroom slowly quieted, their laughs and discussions dying down as Iruka stood in front of the chalkboard, looking them over. He had been teaching this class for years, and was amazed that everyone had passed the final exam without any problems.

_I do believe this is the first time an entire class has passed all at once!_

"All right! To begin, congratulations to everyone for graduating! From today on, you will be in three man squads under the leadership of a Jonin, who will be heading your missions unless otherwise stated, understood?"

The silence told Iruka that either everyone understood, or no one did.

Either way, he had to continue on. "Well, let's get to the team assignments, shall we? When I call your name, stay in your seat. You'll be allowed to leave once I finish calling out the teams."

Sakura found this entire process to be terribly boring, in all honesty. Yes, Iruka was her favorite teacher in the academy, but she hated having to sit through this whole thing, and just hoped she would get her dream time.

"Team 7! Namikaze Menma, Haruno Sakura…"

_Yes!_

"And Uchiha Sasuke!"

_Why?!_

Sakura bit her tongue in an effort not to yell. She looked at Menma and Sasuke, who were fist bumping at the _great_ idea of them being on a team together. She was absolutely, one hundred percent unimpressed.

When Sasuke looked at her with a small smile, Sakura wanted to punch him.

"I guess we're on a team, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura forced out a fake smile, nodding. "Yes, we are."

_I hate my life._

**END CHAPTER 1**


	2. Uchiha Sasuke

**Chapter 2: Uchiha Sasuke**

During the war that occurred when he was four, Uchiha Sasuke hid in his bedroom with his nine-year-old brother, Itachi, in order to keep from being scarred, and because their parents had sent him there. The small Uchiha child shook every time he heard someone come to the door and inform his parents of what was currently going on, usually that another member of their clan had perished in the fight to protect Konoha.

It terrified and shook the small child to his very core, thinking about how another of his dear family members had died trying to protect their family. Every few minutes he would sob and cry to Itachi to make it all stop, make everything ok, but the older child could do nothing to help. All he could do was hide under the bed or in the closet with his little brother, and tell him that everything would definitely be ok in the end, even though it looked bad now.

Once the war ended, Sasuke was back to his normal self. He was happy as could be each and every day, and he loved helping his mother, Mikoto, with whatever she needed, and training with Itachi. No one ever minded when Sasuke would follow after them, no matter where they were going. Mikoto, however, hated it when Sasuke followed someone without a single word to her, because she would see one moment and he would be gone the next. It terrified her the first time it happened.

Sasuke was two-years-old when he wandered away from Mikoto at the market because he had seen someone his parents' knew and he decided to follow them. When she turned around, Mikoto had a heart attack because her small child was gone, until someone told her he was with one of their friends just a little bit further down. She ran to get him and scolded him so much that Sasuke never left Mikoto unless he said something.

When Sasuke was six, he finally entered the academy, excited and ready to learn about how to become someone that was worthy to be a shinobi of Konoha. He aced every test, passed every cloning jutsu exam, along with the ninjutsu exams. During this time, Sasuke had found it hard to be around his parents, and could easily put on a pout one day to his mother that he didn't want to go to class that day and he felt sick. Mikoto loved her youngest son as much as she did her oldest, and decided to let him stay home on those days because she knew he just missed her.

From then on, when Sasuke wanted to get something from his parents or family members, he would put on his cute little pout and get his way.

The only person this did not work on was his older brother's future wife, Asuna Myuki. She could see through his ruse of faking to be sick and pouting his way to something he wanted.

And Asuna made it known. She would walk with Sasuke to the academy every day, and when she showed up to walk with him, if Sasuke was trying to pout his way out of class, whether to his mother or his father, Asuna would pipe up and convince the adult that Sasuke was perfectly fine and he should come to class.

That was the only time Sasuke ever hated someone.

+!+

When he was six years old, Sasuke met the girl that would knock him off his feet. Literally.

The day had started out normal. He was in class in the morning, and in the afternoon Iruka took his class outside to do some sparring practice.

That day, also, happened to be the day that Itachi was free from all missions and clan meetings and was able to go and watch, along with Asuna who stuck to him like glue.

Sasuke wasn't actually paying any attention to the fact that his brother, his _freaking_ role model, was there to watch him that day.

Instead, Sasuke was looking at the pretty little girl with bubble gum pink hair and bright green eyes that was sitting right across from him. He had _never_ seen her before, and he was infatuated and amazed at how beautiful she was at just six or seven years old. Sasuke had never, ever paid any attention to the girls in his class until now.

This girl was different, he knew it. He didn't know why or how she was different, but she was, and it intrigued the six-year-old boy in every way possible.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I have said your name five times! Get up and get over here!"

Sasuke blinked, shaking his head and looking at Iruka, who was waiting for him to join him in the middle of the field as he had been called to be one of the first students in the mock sparring session.

"Oh… I'm sorry, sensei!" Sasuke jumped up from his spot and ran over beside Iruka, who was looking over the list of students to pick Sasuke's opponent.

"Haruno Sakura!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as the pretty pink haired girl got up and stood on the other side of Iruka.

_Oh no…_

"OK, you two. Please don't hurt each other too much, and let's see you do well! You may begin."

Iruka took a step back and Sakura got into position, while Sasuke just stood there in shock. He just stared at her.

A moment later, Sasuke heard Itachi yelling his name and asking if he was all right, making Sasuke open his eyes and stare at his brother.

"…nii-san?"

"Oh, good! You're all right."

The six-year-old boy blinked, sitting up slowly and looking around just to see Sakura walking back to her place. "What… what happened nii-san?"

Itachi smirked a bit, looking at Sakura. "She knocked you out in two seconds. Your nose is going to be so bruised in the morning, Sasuke."

He nodded, before smiling brightly to himself and yelling, "Haruno Sakura!"

She turned around, blinking her green eyes and staring at him.

"…What?"

"I'm going to marry you one day!"

_And I promise it!_

+!+

Fr the next year, Sasuke followed Sakura around like a love-sick puppy. He was absolutely, one hundred percent convinced he would marry her when they were old enough, and no one could tell him otherwise, not even Sakura herself.

When Asuna, who was only eight, heard of this, she gushed on and on to Itachi about how _cute_ it was that his little brother had his first crush at only seven-years-old. This did nothing but make Itachi roll his eyes and tell Asuna to stop encouraging Sasuke. Asuna shook her head and looked back at the boy, giving a smile.

"So… you gonna walk with her at the festival, Sasuke?"

Sasuke titled his head to the left, confused. "Festival?"

"Tanabata is next week! Itachi and I are going, so are your parents and mine!" Asuna sighed a bit, looking at Itachi with a smile. "Tanabata is supposed to be _romantic_."

"You're freaking eight, Asuna. We're not getting married for another twelve years."

This time Asuna rolled her eyes. Being four years younger than her future husband was a pain. He never took her seriously!

"Anyway," she looked back at Sasuke, who was still so very confused. "I bet if you asked her real nice, she'd walk with you at the festival."

"Really?"

"You might even get to _kiss_ her."

"Really?!"

"Asuna!"

+!+

Tanabata came rather quickly, and it made Sasuke nervous. He had, somehow, convinced Sakura to walk with him, and they were walking in front of Itachi and Asuna, trying to drown out Asuna's requests to the older boy to get her some food because she was starving.

Sasuke stole glances at Sakura whenever he was sure she wasn't looking. She looked so _beautiful_ in her yukata that it made Sasuke even **more** nervous than he had been when they went to get Sakura at her apartment, and constantly taking glances at her wasn't helping him in the least to get over the nervousness that was almost suffocating him.

Sasuke was completely oblivious to the unhappy aura radiating from Sakura. She had wanted to stay at home during Tanabata, as she cared nothing about the festival and just wanted to be at home resting since they had classes the next morning, but, no. Sasuke had somehow convinced her to come along with him and his brother, and she couldn't refuse in the end.

"S-Sakura-chan?"

Said pink haired girl looked at the extremely nervous boy, who gave her a shy smile before pointing at the fireworks going off.

"The fireworks started without us! I bet nii-san and Asuna-chan are watching somewhere with my parents…do you wanna watch with us?"

Sasuke barely noticed when Sakura cringed a bit, not minding when she shook her head and said she was ready to head home, and that she would do so by herself.

"O-Oh… OK, Sakura-chan."

"But… you know, _thanks._ For inviting me! That's it!"

He blinked, before smiling brightly and nodding, leaning over and kissing Sakura on the cheek, his face bright red as he ran off where he figured his family was after telling Sakura goodbye.

"I did it! I kissed her!"

Sasuke was so excited that he didn't even noticed when Sakura stuck her tongue out and started wiping her cheek.

+!+

Sasuke had just turned seven when he met his best friend, Menma Namikaze. The two met at a meeting between the Uchiha clan and the Hokage, which Menma's father, Minato, attended as he was being considered for the fifth Hokage, and the third Hokage wanted him there to see what went on at these meetings.

Menma found the whole thing boring, as did Sasuke, who suggested that they sneak away from their parents and play somewhere. Menma had the perfect place in mind, which was the second floor of the Hokage tower, as it had a free room that no one use and they would be able to play without worry.

The only problem with this idea was that, when Minato and Fugaku realized their children were missing, they immediately went searching through the entire tower before they finally found the two boys hiding under a table in the free room.

From then on, every though they had supervision every time, Sasuke and Menma spent most of their days hanging out at each other's house and at school, especially when Sakura was around.

"Menma~"

"Dude, _what_?"

Sasuke pointed over at Sakura who was looking their way, before she directed her attention back to her textbook in order to not get caught.

"I think Sakura-chan likes you…"

Menma stared at Sasuke, looking at Sakura. "Psh, dude, no way! She likes you, I can tell."

"What?!" Sasuke nearly squeaked the word out, a red blush covering his face. "S-Sakura-chan… likes me back!?"

"Sure! Why wouldn't she?"

"Well… I did kiss her on Tanabata…"

"_Dude._"

Sasuke shook his head, not believing his friend in the least. "No… I'm sure she likes you."

Menma grinned, looking at the pink haired girl, giving a wave that made her blush and hide her face in her book.

"We'll see about that my friend…"

+!+

Sasuke was sitting under a tree in the schoolyard, the most coveted lunch spot, waiting for Menma to grab his lunch and join him. the two were now eight and spent so much time together, you'd think they were brothers half the time.

Today, Sasuke was thinking of different way he could get Sakura to pay attention to him without Menma around. Sasuke liked Menma, they were best friends, but he also knew that Sakura seemed to have a crush on the blonde haired blue eye boy, and Sasuke wanted that attention directed at himself.

The second Sasuke looked up from his lunch to the school, he saw Menma walking his way with Sakura right behind him. it cause Sasuke to choke on his food, completely shocked.

"S-Sakura-chan!"

Menma saw this and laughed, hitting Sasuke on the back and making the choking worse for a moment, before he forced down his food and looked at his friend.

"Sakura's gonna eat lunch with us, man! Cool with you?"

Sasuke blinked, looking from Menma to Sakura with a smile.

"Cool with me."

Sasuke spent lunch arguing with Menma over what exercise they would be doing later that day, while taking secret glances towards Sakura every little bit and noticing her smile. He didn't know if she found their argument funny or if she was smiling because she near Menma.

But Sasuke didn't care.

_Sakura-chan is here… I'm glad just to be next to her!_

+!+

When he was nine, Sasuke got into another argument with Menma, this time about where babies came from. It was childish, yes, Sasuke knows that, but, they were nine-year-olds who had never been told how babies were made.

This, actually, came about because Sasuke had learned after he got home the day before that he was going to have a little sibling the next summer, and, when he asked how babies were made, his parents stuttered for a moment before telling him they would tell him when he was older. Sasuke then asked Itachi, who simply smirked and said he wasn't going to tell him that until he was much older.

So, Sasuke asked Menma, who promptly told his friend that a stork brought babies on whatever date it was the child was supposed to be there, causing Sasuke to scoff at his friend.

"You idiot. Obviously parents go to the hospital to pick the baby up!"

Menma stared, shaking his head. "No way! My mom told me a stork brought the babies!"

"Your mom lied."

"Sasuke!"

The argument continued as the two walked into the classroom, Sasuke seeing Sakura, who was with her new friend Yamanaka Ino, right away.

"Hey, Menma, let's ask Sakura-chan! I bet she knows the truth!"

Menma nodded, still arguing with Sasuke as they walked over to Sakura and Ino. Before they made it over there, Menma had a wicked idea to tell Sakura they were arguing about who she liked, and brought this idea up to Sasuke, who, while he was horrified at the idea at first, decided that would be a good way to begin.

"What are you two fighting about _this_ time?" Sakura spoke up the second the two appeared before her, wondering why Sasuke was smiling.

The two looked at Sakura, before looking back at each other.

"Well," Sasuke started, smirking a little bit. "I bet Menma that I could get you to date me one day!"

"And I said it wouldn't work," Menma rolled his eyes, looking back at Sakura. "I told him you didn't like him that way."

"So~ Sakura-chan, which one of us is right?"

Sakura blinked, looking between the two, surprised.

This made Sasuke nervous. He was worried Sakura would say she liked Menma and not him, which would have confirmed the thoughts he had for the last two years.

"I-I…W-Well… um…"

Menma smiled, nodding. "See, Sasuke? I told you Sakura would never date you!"

Sasuke shot a small glare at his best friend, looking back to Sakura. "She didn't even say anything, stupid! Sakura-chan, you don't have to answer! We were joking around, that's all!"

Sasuke noticed Sakura start to calm down, trying to help by setting his hand on her shoulder and hoping that would calm her down without a problem.

"So," Ino spoke up, hiding behind Sakura a tiny bit. "What… what were you t-two fighting about?"

"Where babies come from." Menma said it with a straight face.

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head, while Ino looked like she was going to faint.

Sakura, on the other hand, broke out into a laugh, making the other three stare at her, wondering what the heck was wrong with her.

"Sakura-chan?"

"What's wrong, why are you laughing at me?!"

Sakura calmed down once again, wiping away the few tears that had come out from her laughing.

"You guys… you don't know where babies come from?"

Menma and Sasuke looked at each other, turning to Sakura and nodding.

Sakura smirked immediately, getting up from her seat and throwing her arms around their shoulders.

"Walk with me, talk with me, boys…"

The two did so, and Sakura explained where babies come from, making their eyes widen as they ran off.

Sasuke had never wanted to wipe a memory of Sakura way more than he did at that moment.

+!+

"Dude, she's gonna say no…"

Menma rolled his eyes, looking at Sasuke with a grin. Sasuke's mother had told him to invite Sakura over for dinner that night, as she wanted to meet the young lady her son had a crush on, especially since this crush had been going on for the last five years, and Sasuke was now twelve.

"I bet she'll say yes! Just tell her your mom wants her to come over!"

"But, dude…"

"It's the truth! If you say your mom wants her to come over, she can't refuse! Trust me, Sasuke!"

Sasuke gulped, nodding slowly before he started walking over to Sakura, his heart pounding so badly the young Uchiha thought it was going to jump out of his chest.

_Oh gosh… oh gosh…I'm so scared…_

Yes, Sasuke had talked to Sakura multiple times, made his feelings known to her, but, asking her over to his house was nerve wracking. He was terrified she would say no and completely disregard him, as she always did.

"S-Sakura-chan…"

"What, Sasuke?"

"W-Would you… um… i-if you want to, I mean, you don't _have_ to, but, my mom wants you to come over for dinner tonight… Asuna will be there too! So, it wouldn't just be us and my parents… promise!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow, staring at Sasuke with amusement. He didn't know what was so funny, but he was still terrified beyond belief that she was going to deny the invitation.

Shaking her head, Sakura looked at Sasuke and sighed. "Fine… but, only because it's your mother wanting me over!"

Sasuke's eyes widened, and a smile broke out on his face as he nodded. "Six o'clock!"

"Six o'clock."

He immediately turned and ran back to Menma. "She said yes, man!"

"See?! You never know unless you try!"

+!+

"Everyone, calm down, now!"

The about thirty Genin in the classroom slowly quieted, their laughs and discussions dying down as Iruka stood in front of the chalkboard, looking them over. He had been teaching this class for years, and was amazed that everyone had passed the final exam without any problems.

_I do believe this is the first time an entire class has passed all at once!_

"All right! To begin, congratulations to everyone for graduating! From today on, you will be in three man squads under the leadership of a Jonin, who will be heading your missions unless otherwise stated, understood?"

The silence told Iruka that either everyone understood, or no one did.

Either way, he had to continue on. "Well, let's get to the team assignments, shall we? When I call your name, stay in your seat. You'll be allowed to leave once I finish calling out the teams."

Sasuke stole glances at Sakura while Iruka listed off the teams. He was worried he would be place away from Menma, yes, because they were best friend, but he was also terrified of not being on a team with Sakura. He adored her and wanted to be able to train with her all the time.

"Team 7! Namikaze Menma, Haruno Sakura…"

Sasuke bit his lip, praying he was the last member of Team 7.

"And Uchiha Sasuke!"

_YES._

Sasuke looked at Menma, before turning to Sakura with a smile.

"I guess we're on a team, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura forced out a fake smile, nodding. "Yes, we are."

_I'm so glad!_

**END CHAPTER 2**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Please forgive me of the lateness of this chapter! I have been extremely busy this school semester, and just today was able to finish up this chapter. This chapter, actually, is longer than chapter 1, and I would like to keep the chapters around 3,000 words, which this one and the first one had exceeded.

I do plan to work as much as I can this next eight weeks to finish and post chapters faster. I do not have a set day for chapter posting, but I would like to post each chapter about two weeks apart from now on. If I can't do that, just assume it was my darn homework.

I'll see you guys next chapter~ Please R&R! :)


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